eugenidesfandomcom-20200213-history
Irene
}}Attolia Irene is the queen of Attolia, the wife of Eugenides, and a main character in the Queen's Thief series. She is often referred to simply by her title Attolia. Physical Appearance Irene is a tall, beautiful woman with black hair. She frequently wears a ruby headband and dresses in imitation of the goddess Hephestia. She is several inches taller than Eugenides.The King of Attolia, 2017 paperback edition, page 100. Story Early Life Irene was born a minor princess of Attolia, the daughter of the previous king of Attolia and his second wife. When her brother was killed in a suspicious horse riding accident, she became heir. Since women were not traditionally rulers of Attolia, she was betrothed to the son of a powerful baron, and he would have become king. While she lived in his household she was given the nickname "shadow princess" by her fiance. She pretended to be stupid and shy, so that he would not suspect her of plotting against him. Shortly before her first marriage, her father was poisoned and she became queen. At her wedding, she poisoned her groom with powdered coleus leaves. Her barons then convened to decide who her next husband would be, but Attolia ordered the Captain of the Guard to shoot the man they selected instead. She then informed her barons that the next king of Attolia would be her choice. She spent the next years strengthening her position as queen. She increased the size of her Guard, allowed okloi as well patronoi to serve as officers in her army, and dealt ruthlessly with anyone who opposed her rule. During this time she earned the respect of her people, though her barons continued to vie for power against her. The Thief Using intelligence supplied by Ambiades, the Attolian guard captured Eugenides, the magus, and Sophos during their journey to steal Hamiathes's Gift. Attolia came personally to speak with the prisoners and, suspecting Eugenides's true identity, approached him with an offer to become her Thief. Eugenides refused the offer and soon after escaped back to Eddis. The Queen of Attolia After stealing Hamiathes's Gift, Eugenides continued to visit Attolia, occasionally sneaking into the queen's strongholds to spy on her. With assistance from the goddess Moira, Attolia was able to capture him. Though she initially intended to hang Eugenides, the Medean ambassador Nahuseresh convinced her to consider a different punishment instead. Attolia then decided to cut off Eugenides's right hand and sent him back to Eddis. The queen of Eddis then retaliated against Attolia, and the two countries went to war soon after. During the war, Nahuseresh provided Attolia with gold and military advice, hoping to maneuver the country into an alliance with the Medean Empire. Attolia attempted to form an alliance with Sounis against Eddis, but the alliance dissolved after Eugenides destroyed the Sounisian navy and led the king of Sounis to believe that Attolia had been behind the attack. While overseeing her army in Ephrata, Attolia was tricked into leaving by boat with Eugenides, who then offered her a choice between death or marriage to him, which would end the war. Attolia was rescued from the Eddisians by Nahuseresh, however, who had landed a Medean army in Attolia without her knowledge or consent. Although freed from Eddisian captivity, Attolia nonetheless decided to marry Eugenides and expelled the Medean army from her country. The King of Attolia Shortly before Attolia married Eugenides, Relius privately asked her to consider ways to limit the new king's power. Attolia refused to consider it. She hoped that Eugenides would be a strong king, secure in his position, and that this would finally stop her barons from vying against her and each other for power. But despite Attolia's wishes, Eugenides was reluctant to wield power, and preferred to let her take the lead in most matters of government. Immediately after their wedding, Eugenides told Attolia that he wanted to reduce the Royal Guard by half; she responded by throwing an inkpot at his head. But at some point after that, she agreed to reduce the Guard on the condition that he also convince Teleus first. Two or three months later, Relius's intelligence operation was compromised, leading to the simultaneous capture of several Attolian spies. He lied to the queen about the cause, then retreated to his rooms to write a confession and attempted to poison himself. He was arrested before he could finish the deed, and Attolia ordered him imprisoned and tortured. Not long after that, Eugenides was badly injured in an attempted assassination. Furious, Attolia arrested Teleus and the entire squad of guards assigned to Eugenides when he was attacked, and planned to have them all executed the next morning. But due to the intervention of Costis and Eugenides, she ultimately ended up pardoning them, though she quarreled with Eugenides publicly over the decision afterwards. Shortly after Teleus was reinstated as Captain of the Guard, Eugenides pardoned Relius. Although Attolia was initially reluctant to see him, Eugenides eventually convinced her to visit Relius. She admitted that she had trusted Relius in the past, despite his own advice not to, and that she would trust him unconditionally moving forward. Trivia * Irene may be based partially on the historical figure Irene of Athens, the only woman to rule the Byzantine Empire in her own right. * Her given name, Irene, is a Greek word meaning "peace." The line that appears in The Queen of Attolia, "Steal peace, Eugenides", is a pun centered on this fact, and a foreshadowing of the later events in'' The Queen of Attolia''.Category:Featured article References Category:Characters Category:People Category:Attolia